Where are the Men's tea rooms?

Okay folks, perhaps others have already discussed this (I haven't read ALL the posts), but it seems to me that the tea world is missing out on a huge potential market by staying mired in the old image of little old ladies.

Tea is healthy, and has cancer fighting antioxidants. As our society becomes increasingly aware of prostate cancer and acid reflux, wouldn't it make sense for more men to switch from coffee to tea? I did. Though I will never know for sure if it is helping to fight off eventual cancer, I do know that my consumption of Rolaids has dropped exponentially.

Whoever makes a tea room and brand that speaks to guys like me will possibly make a fortune. I like watching sports and eating hot wings. I like beer. I lift weights. I've been to topless clubs (though not since the wife put the kabosh on that after the bachelor party ).

I like the fact that tea is far healthier for me than coffee. I love my kids. I want to take my grandchildren to baseball games and play with them in the back yard, but that's probably 25 years off minimum since my kids are only 6 and 8.

I like the fact that there's a huge selection and variety of different teas to choose from. I get bored VERY easily.

I like the fact that companies are now making cool gadgets with which to brew tea so I don't ever have to have a cutsie little teapot in my home. Unless the teapot is black with a Harley Davidson or Pittsburgh Steelers logo on it, you'll never catch me using one.

I like that I don't have chronic heartburn anymore. Any explanation needed?

Agreed. Completely. When I went to TeaMap, I found nothing but this kind of teahouse in my area. They're all decorated in flowery porcelain and flower-decorated straw hats. It's ... undesirable.

Any way, it seems most men consider coffee their hot beverage source for caffeine, and it's just a quick thing to get in the morning. As for a social gathering, it mostly revolves around this stuff called "beer," and at places called "bars or "pubs" though this is not a universal given.

There's just a lot of feminine stigma around tea.

Mary R wrote:Why is it that in the tea world, women are drawn almost exclusively to this aspect? From what I've seen in the blogosphere, women all but ignore the Asian traditions. *shrug*

This seems to relate back to the feminine stigma. There's an oft seen image (or possibly standard?) of a Victorian lady, properly holding her little flower-painted porcelain cup of tea, with her pinky finger sticking straight out.

I'm a woman and I'm a big tea drinker. Even so, I've known a lot of men who drank tea and nobody thought anything of it. Maybe because I've been friends with a lot of folks who were Japanese and Korean descended and drinking tea was commonplace.

I never acquired a taste for coffee. Even now, if I have a chance at a frappucino, I try to get the creme version instead of the coffee flavored one.

I don't know why teahouses are frilly and froufrou, but it has bothered me as well. I think if the teahouse was gender-neutral, ala Starbucks, I think you would have the chance at success. Make tea hip by offering the exotic stuff by name and people will think about how wonderful and trendy it is. Tie it into a healthy lifestyle and I can't help but think you have a winner.

I seem to recall a show where a teahouse did just that. It was trendy and people were ordering expensive greens. Very interesting.

I was recently at a Teavana store and found it to be fairly gender neutral and inviting. A "man's man" wouldn't have any reservations stepping foot in there. Good start.

Tha problem was that the store was laid out poorly, and I had to ask a bunch of questions just to find out that I could even order a cup of tea to go! Have you ever known a man who is willing to ask for directions?

Men like to figure things out for ourselves. It's just the way we're wired. If Teavana put more effort into making the store self explanatory, I think they may hit the nail on the proverbial head.

Oh yeah, and they should also co-brand a line of teas with the NFL. "Go Long Oolong" "Mean Green" "Hail Mary Mate" "Gridiron Black" and so on.....